Depending on what the game of men's professional golf wants to be when it grows up, the past six weeks have either been the best of times, or the worst.

An outlandish month and a half in the so-called gentlemen's game reached an unexpected and extremely unwelcome crescendo Tuesday evening when Sergio Garcia, trying to one-up Tiger Woods in their childish, nearly two-week-long verbal spat, said he wanted to "serve fried chicken" to Woods if they were to have dinner together.

Whether he realized it himself, or was clued in quickly by his agent or a sponsor, Garcia apologized later that evening for his racist remark. Then, after what he said was a sleepless night, he was at it again Wednesday: "My answer was totally stupid and out of place. I can't say sorry enough about that. ... I feel sick about it. I'm truly, truly sorry."

Woods, for his part, posted a few unflinching sentences on Twitter, including this one: "I'm confident that there is real regret that the remark was made."

It's a serious matter that is now attached to Garcia for the rest of his career, turning him into the 21st century version of Fuzzy Zoeller. It's also a significant reminder that there still are relatively intelligent people in the world, and in the public eye, who apparently believe it's just fine to tell a racist joke. This is not only bewildering, it's terribly disappointing.

That said, who doesn't want to see Garcia paired with Woods at next month's U.S. Open near Philadelphia? We're talking Philly, where Eagles fans once booed Santa Claus. Seriously, who wouldn't turn on the TV to see that?

This is the crossroads at which the once so pure and untouchable game of golf finds itself. Haven't the modern-day leaders of the sport said they really want to reach the masses? Well, there's no better way to reach everyone, including the vast majority within our population who have never picked up a golf club, than by turning yourself into a reality TV show, which is just about what the last six weeks have been like on the PGA Tour.

Which means, heading into the game's prime summer stretch, at a time when Woods is back to winning tournaments, the game is being overshadowed by its sideshows.

It all began at the Masters with the controversy over Woods' illegal drop. The Masters rules committee blew it and Tiger blew it - but the fact that Woods kept playing rather than withdrawing, and was near the lead throughout the weekend, provided one whale of a story.

Might we also mention right here that Woods is now dating U.S. Olympic gold medal-winning skier Lindsey Vonn, who looks as good as he does on a red carpet and has been known to get airlifted off a mountain after crashing, only to check herself out of the hospital to come back and race again? And golfers think a sand save takes guts?

What's a TV spectacle these days without a villain? In golf, to some, that's Woods, or, now, Garcia. A couple of weeks ago, it was most definitely Vijay Singh, who is suing the PGA Tour after being exonerated on a doping charge. Yes, he won, and he's still suing. Normally the bad guy sues when he loses. This was a plot twist few saw coming.

That same week at The Players Championship, Garcia accused Woods of inciting the gallery with a breach of golf etiquette, which led to their embarrassing school-boy complaining, pouting and name-calling. And finally, just this week, the powers that be in the game decided that those long, funny-looking, anchored belly putters would no longer be allowed as of 2016, although the PGA Tour has said it would like to keep them, which would create chaos in the game, and, of course, more controversy, and more headlines.

Who knew golf's Silly Season actually was now? For golf purists, this is a terrible turn of events.

But it's exactly this kind of nonsense that often attracts the multitudes. You could argue that the past six weeks have done more to capture fans' interest, and their eyeballs, than at any time since Woods won his first major at the 1997 Masters. Golf isn't the escape it used to be; it's much more a mirror of our society. But even if the game is in the news for many of the wrong reasons, the bottom line is, it's most definitely there.